The Man In Momma's Picture: A Children Of Overwatch Short Story
by FarSideOfTheSun
Summary: During a stop at the Panorama Diner on Route 66, McCree and his son Jorge encounter an interesting young stranger curious about an old photo on her mother's dartboard.
1. Meeting Natalie

"You gonna finish that?"

Jorge looked up from his partially eaten slice of apple pie and turned his attention to the speaker who asked him the question. A tall, freckle-nosed girl stood next to the booth in the small diner where he sat, arms folded across her chest and her green eyes half-closed as if in boredom.

Jorge pulled the plate with his pie on it close to his chest. "Yeah, I'm gonna finish it. Just not right now."

The girl snorted in reply. "Relax, squirt, I ain't gonna take your stupid pie. I was just checkin' if you were gonna finish it, is all. 'Cause it'd be a shame to waste it."

Jorge scowled at the word 'squirt' as it left the girl's mouth. Though it was true he was small for his age of eight years, he always hated it when strangers commented on his size. Still, the boy kept his temper in check.

"I just get nervous in restaurants," he said after a minute of silence. "I don't like eating when there's lotsa people around."

"Well, there's hardly anyone here today, so no sense usin' that excuse," the girl told him.

She was right. The small roadside diner where Jesse McCree and his son Jorge had stopped for lunch was empty except for themselves, a few waitresses, the kitchen staff, and this unpleasant visitor. There also wasn't much sound except for the soft _whirr_ of the only working ceiling fan in the building and that old jukebox in the corner playing the same songs over and over.

Sighing, Jorge took a bite of his pie, hoping it would get this pesky stranger to stop bothering him about it. The girl remained where she was, but luckily she didn't say another word about finishing the pie.

"So d'ya come here often?"

Grateful that the girl was changing the subject, Jorge began to relax.

"My dad and I are on our way to Flagstaff to meet someone, but he wanted to stop here to 'settle some business'," the boy answered, "This is the first time I've ever come here, but Dad's been here lots of times. He says this place serves the best apple pie, but the coffee's awful."

The tiniest of smiles crossed the girl's face. "I agree; that stuff tastes like mud. But their apple pie's the best you can get around here, though their key lime's pretty good, too."

The two children chuckled.

"How about you?" Jorge asked. "Do you come here a lot?"

The girl turned her gaze to the window.

"Yeah, every once in a while," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "My family travels a lot, mostly across this part of the country, but here is where we usually stay."

"Here in Deadlock Gorge?"

"Yep."

"But what about-?"

The girl held up her hand to quiet the boy. "If you're talkin' about the Deadlock Gang, don't worry. They don't bother us long as we stay out of their way." Her eyes lit up in surprise as if she just remembered something, then she held out her hand. "By the way, sorry for not introducin' myself. I'm Natalie."

"Nice to meet you," Jorge replied, accepting the girl's hand into his own. "My name's Jorge."

"Cool. Mind if I join you? I might get somethin' myself."

Jorge shook his head.

As Natalie took a seat in the booth across from Jorge, she glanced out the window, eyes narrowed, as if looking for something - or someone. Jorge noticed her lips moving, but he couldn't make out any words except "bars". Curious as to who or what Natalie could be talking about, the boy looked out the window as well, but he couldn't see anything save for the pick-up truck he and his father had arrived in and the trailer attached to it. Other than that, there was only the rust-colored walls of Deadlock Gorge and the long-abandoned road that wound its way through it. A lone tumbleweed rolled across the road as a breeze swept through the gorge, stirring up a bit of dust.

"Good, he didn't follow me here," Natalie muttered as she looked away from the window and turned her attention to the menu on the table before her. She was about to flip it open when her gaze fell upon Jesse, who was seated at the counter a couple yards from the booth, chatting with the waitress who had come to refill his coffee. Jorge watched as his companion snatched up the menu and began leafing hastily through it, wondering why she was behaving so strangely.

"Is something-?" he began to ask, but fell silent when Natalie waved her hand in a shushing gesture. Jesse looked their way for a few seconds, then returned to his conversation with the waitress as if he hadn't noticed anything.

Five minutes of puzzled silence followed, ending only when another waitress came to the children's table to take their order.

"Could I get some root beer, please?" Jorge asked. The apple pie he'd just eaten was delicious, but the crust made him thirsty.

The waitress nodded as she wrote Jorge's request in her order book, then turned her attention to Natalie. "And how about you, young lady?"

Natalie looked over the last few pages of her menu before making up her mind. "Strawberry ice cream soda, please."

The waitress added Natalie's order to her book, then marched briskly toward the kitchen window, heels clacking against the floor. As soon as she was out of earshot, Natalie leaned across the table toward Jorge, hand cupped over one side of her mouth.

"Can you keep a secret?" she whispered

Sensing the seriousness in the girl's voice, Jorge took his time before responding, also in a whisper. "Yeah. What is it?"

Natalie jabbed her thumb in Jesse's direction. "See him?"

"Yeah, that's my dad. What about him?"

Natalie leaned further forward so that her lips were just inches from Jorge's ear.

"My mother has his picture on her dart board."

Jorge stared at Natalie, unable to believe what he'd just heard. "R-really?" he stammered.

Natalie nodded. "I swear to God that's him, the guy in Momma's picture." She glanced in Jesse's direction once more, making sure the cowboy wasn't paying attention to her and Jorge's whispered conversation before continuing. "She's had that picture since before I was born, but for some reason she never walks past it without flingin' a dart, shakin' her fist or flippin' her finger at it. What's really strange is that she won't let anyone else touch it, not even me." The girl sighed in disbelief. "I just don't understand. If that guy makes her so angry, why'd she hold on to his picture for so long?"

"What does your dad or anyone else in your family think about this?" Jorge asked.

"Dad hasn't noticed yet 'cause he ain't around much," Natalie replied. "As for the rest of the family, they don't like to talk about it 'cause they're afraid of 'feedin' me false information', as Momma puts it." The girl paused to brush her feathery bangs out of her face. "But I'm curious about him. He looks like an interesting guy."

Jorge wasn't sure what to say or think. He couldn't believe what this stranger he'd just met in the diner had told him. Shortly before their arrival at the diner, his father had mentioned there were a few old 'friends' of his still hanging around Deadlock Gorge. Could Natalie's mother have been one of those 'friends'? What did his father do that made her so angry? Did it have anything to do with that 'business' he came here to settle?

_What if she ... wanted ... to kill him ..?_

"Hey, Jorge, you okay?" Natalie asked, noticing her companion's face had turned unusually pale.

"I... um ..." Jorge fiddled with a loose thread on his poncho as he tried to think of an acceptable answer for Natalie. "I'm fine," he answered lamely. "It's just ... this is making me uncomfortable. Can we please talk about something else?"

Seeing that the waitress from earlier was approaching the kids' booth with their order, Natalie decided changing the subject was a wise decision. "Al-righty, then. How about ..." The girl paused to search her brain for a topic Jorge would be comfortable with. "...trains! Ever been on a train?"

Jorge nodded. "A couple of times."

Natalie smiled. "Well then, let tell ya about this one time ..."

* * *

As the two children continued to talk, Jesse McCree continued to observe them from his perch at the counter. Though he was pleased his shy and skittish son had made a new friend, the cowboy found himself intrigued by Jorge's new companion. The girl looked friendly enough, though a tad on the bossy side; but her behavior seemed suspicious. She'd often glance out the window as if she was expecting someone to meet her here, and once or twice she'd snatched up her menu and flipped through it as if it were a dictionary, a tactic Jesse had seen plenty of times before.

She was clearly trying to hide something, but what it was Jesse couldn't quite put his finger on it; however, he couldn't help but feel the reason for the girl's behavior should be obvious to him.

_I wonder if ... nah, couldn't be._ The cowboy closed his eyes as he took a sip of his coffee; some time ago he'd discovered it didn't taste so bad if he couldn't see it. _Ashe never liked kids much, and I doubt any man who wasn't outright insane would even think of gettin' that close to her ..._

Still, Jesse had to admit the resemblance between Jorge's new friend and his former partner-in-crime, especially in her younger years, was remarkable. Many of the girl's facial expressions, especially the way she scowled and arched her eyebrows, gave off a vibe that had Ashe written all over it. Not to mention she possessed the same fluffy, white-blonde hair the Deadlock leader had as a young girl, though the girl's was a tad more yellow.

"Those your kids?"

The waitress who'd brought the children their sodas had stopped by Jesse's seat at the counter on her way back to the kitchen, wondering if the man was the one in charge of the youngsters.

"Why d'ya ask?" the cowboy drawled.

"Well, it's just that until now I've always seen the girl come here by herself, but this is the first time I've seen the boy," the waitress responded. "They yours?"

Jesse placed his cup of coffee on the counter, keeping his grip on the handle. He remained silent for a minute, taking his sweet time before answering.

"The boy's mine. As for the girl, this is the first time I've seen her." Jesse started to raise his cup to his mouth, but placed it back on the counter as he remembered something the waitress had mentioned. "You said you've seen her come here alone before; what else can you tell me about her? Do you know her parents or what her family's like?"

The waitress glanced uneasily toward the kids, then toward the floor.

"She's ... pretty closed-mouthed about that particular subject," the waitress stammered. "All she's ever told us about her folks is that they live down the gorge somewhere, but I have no idea why anyone would be crazy enough to live this close to the Deadlock Gang's main headquarters." The woman shook her head and grunted in disbelief. "I'd hate to think she might even be connected to those creeps somehow - especially to that Ashe woman - but so far all signs seem to point in that direction, especially considering how she's only around when they are."

Jesse looked once more toward Jorge and his mysterious friend. He'd heard enough to confirm his suspicions.

"I see," he responded. The cowboy rose from his seat and placed a generous tip into the perplexed waitress's hand as he strode past her on his way to his son's table. "Keep the change."

* * *

"... Luckily, I didn't break any bones, but I still scared Momma half to death!"

Jorge listened, eyes wide in awe, as Natalie told her story over their sodas. The boy couldn't believe what he was hearing. Though the girl's tale of attempting to jump on a passing train as a small child sounded incredible, Jorge had to admit his new friend had quite the nerve.

_I wonder what Dad would think of this,_ he thought to himself. _He never did have much luck with trains, especially while they were going over bridges. Speaking of ..._

"Aren't they ever gonna fix that bridge?" The question had left Jorge's mouth as soon as it crossed his mind.

Natalie's eyebrows arched in a questioning manner. "You mean the one that crosses the gorge up ahead?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

Natalie shook her head. "I don't think so. Last I heard that railway was re-routed after the Deadlock Gang blew up a freighter as it crossed the gorge, so there's no point fixin' the bridge now." The girl stared at her soda as she stirred it with a straw. "Come to think of it, a number of railways passin' through the Southwest might be re-routed or outright discontinued as part of the government's new plan to crack down on gangs like Deadlock. Some of the smaller gang leaders are already jumpin' ship, but my mother says it'll be a cold day in hell before Calamity Ashe hangs up her hat."

"Really, now? Is that what she told you?"

Natalie gasped and jumped in her seat, startled that the voice that responded was not Jorge's. Apparently the kids were so into their conversation they failed to hear the jingle of Jesse's spurs as the man approached their table.

"You and your little friend doin' okay there, buddy?" Jesse asked Jorge.

"Sure, Dad," the boy replied. "I think you scared Natalie, though."

Sure enough, the girl was backed into a corner of the booth, looking like she'd just been caught with her hand in the church collection plate. Jesse smiled sympathetically as he extended his hand to her.

"Mighty sorry I scared you, young lady; need some help?"

Natalie stared in stunned silence at the cowboy for a few seconds; suddenly her face darkened with anger as she swatted his hand away.

"I don't need your help!" she snapped.

Jorge was shocked at his friend's rudeness. "Hey! He was just trying to help!"

Jesse, however, just laughed as if he'd been expecting Natalie's reaction all along.

"Charmin' personality you've got there," he remarked. "I don't suppose your parents know you're here by yourself, do they? Pretty little gal like you shouldn't be on Deadlock turf without someone to watch over you."

Natalie crossed her arms and glared at the man.

"For your information, Momma knows I can take care of myself just fine. Those Deadlock creeps don't dare lay a finger on me 'cause they know she'll give 'em hell if they do."

Jesse shook his head and chuckled softly.

"Your ma sounds like quite the intimidating gal, alright." The cowboy placed his mechanical hand on the seat to steady himself as he leaned into the booth. "In fact, I think I might even know her. Is her middle name Caledonia, by any chance?"

Natalie's expression quickly turned from anger to shock, but the girl remained silent.

"I take it that's a yes, then." Jesse stood up straight again and adjusted his hat. "It just so happens I've got a little somethin' for her. I, uhhhhhhhh, borrowed it from her awhile back, but I've been kinda busy for awhile so I never got a chance to properly return it 'til now."

"Wait, what'dya mean 'borrowed'?" Natalie asked, eyebrows cocked questioningly.

"Well, what do you think it means, young lady?" Jesse responded slyly.

Natalie slouched in her seat, rolling her eyes. _Good gravy, this man was irritating!_ No wonder her mother put his picture on the dartboard. He must have earned that spot if she found him that annoying back when they knew each other. Still scowling, the girl was about to take a sip of her soda when her eyes fell upon the four arrogant letters etched on the cowboy's belt buckle, causing her to sputter into her glass as an equally arrogant laugh bubbled its way out of her mouth.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Natalie scoffed. "You? Really? Yeah, right!"

"Oh, I think you'd be surprised," was Jesse's cryptic response.

"Wait, what?" asked a confused Jorge, who up until now had remained quiet as he witnessed the exchange between Jesse and Natalie. "What's so funny?"

Every time Jorge asked his father what the letters on his belt buckle meant, Jesse would answer, "Maybe when you're older." It made no sense to him how Natalie, who they'd just met, figured out what those letters stood for just by looking at them. Perhaps she'd seen them before, on something else ...

Wondering what the time was, Jesse turned his attention away from Jorge and Natalie just long enough to check the clock on the wall.

_Eight minutes 'til high noon,_ the cowboy thought to himself. _It's now or never; best get this over with so Jorge and I can get goin'._

"Well then, I'll just let you two finish your sodas while I make a little delivery up the gorge," said Jesse. "Jorge, you stay here with your friend and wait 'til I get back. I won't be long."

Jorge nodded. "Okay, Dad."

Jesse was about to make his way to the sliding doors marking the entrance to the diner when he felt a tug. As he looked back toward the table he noticed a concerned Natalie clutching the end of his serape. A rosy blush crept across the girl's face as the man's eyes met hers.

"What's wrong, Natalie?" Jorge asked.

Jesse, however, immediately guessed the reason for Natalie's behavior.

"I've taken on those Deadlock chumps before," he said, his face serious but his eyes holding the tiniest twinkle of amusement. "Single-handedly, I might add. I'll be fine. Just gonna drop somethin' off at the clubhouse up the road and I'll be right back. They probably won't even notice me."

Natalie remained silent but let go of the cowboy's serape.

Both children watched quietly as Jesse walked out of the diner, whistling a solemn tune. As soon as the sliding doors closed behind him, Natalie leaned across the table toward Jorge once more.

"I'm gonna tell you another secret," she said, "but you must swear not to tell anyone. Not your dad, not your mom, not even your closest friend." The girl paused to glance around the diner, making sure the waitresses weren't paying any attention before continuing. "Now put your hand over your heart and repeat after me."

Jorge obeyed, not even bothering to ask why he was being entrusted with such a serious-sounding secret.

"On Mama's grave and Pa's deathbed ..." Natalie chanted the first part of the oath.

"On Mama's grave and Pa's deathbed ..." Jorge repeated, his voice wavering slightly.

"If I tell a soul, may I choke 'til I'm dead!"

Jorge hesitated for a moment, then repeated the second half of the oath with as much confidence as he could muster, "If I tell a soul, may I choke 'til I'm dead."

Natalie gestured for Jorge to lean across the table toward her, which he did. The boy felt the air grow cold and heavy as the girl whispered the secret she'd entrusted to him into his ear.

"My mother is the leader of the Deadlock Gang."


	2. Oh, Shoot!

**Caution: **There is a brief mention of sex in this chapter. It seems pretty mild to me, but let me know if I should still up the story's rating because of this.

* * *

Jesse's solemn whistle mingled with the jingle of his spurs as he strode toward the small trailer hitched to the back of the rented truck he'd spent a good chunk of that morning driving. When he reached the doors at the back of the trailer, the cowboy paused to check his surroundings for signs of danger. Seeing neither man, beast, nor Omnic anywhere around him, Jesse flung the doors wide open and stepped inside, allowing his gaze to rest upon the trailer's cargo.

Jesse smoothed his hand across the shiny red hull of the hoverbike, remembering the day he'd 'acquired' it. Though it had been years since that confrontation between him and the Deadlock Gang, Ashe's banshee-like scream as Jesse rode off on her hoverbike still remained fresh in the cowboy's mind.

Now that he'd finally found the misplaced keys to the darned thing, it was time the bike was returned to its rightful owner.

Since the bike had become rusty due to years of disuse while the keys were missing, Jesse had brought it to the most skilled and professional mechanic he could find to have it renovated. The cost of the job was by no means cheap, but there was no way in hell Jesse McCree was returning an item he'd 'borrowed', especially from someone like Elizabeth Caledonia Ashe, in less-than-mint condition. Luckily, the mechanic didn't disappoint; even in the dim light of the trailer's interior, the bike glistened and gleamed as it might have the day it first rolled off the assembly line.

Jesse retrieved the keys from his pocket and seated himself on the bike. His plan was simple enough: ride up the gorge to the gang's favorite clubhouse, park the bike in the garage just across the road from the clubhouse, then hurry back to the diner on foot and leave with Jorge before any Deadlock goons noticed them. According to an informant, Ashe was in San Bernardino meeting with another gang leader that day and wasn't expected to return to Deadlock Gorge until the following morning at the soonest, so even if Jesse was discovered before he could escape from the gorge he wouldn't have too much of a fight on his hands. And Jorge would be safe as long as he stayed inside the diner and out of sight of any gang members.

_Kid shouldn't be in a place like this,_ the cowboy thought to himself. _If only his mama weren't so dang insistent I take him for the week. Sure, we haven't had much time together these last few years, but I'm just tryin' to keep him out of harm's way like any good father would. With the law, the Deadlock Gang, and who knows who else on my back, there's just no tellin' what may happen to my boy if I let my guard down for even ... _

A sharp beep from his watch brought him out of his thoughts, reminding him of the risky task he came here to complete. Sighing, Jesse checked the time.

_11:55. _

"Well," the cowboy mumbled to himself, "time to get this show on the road." He slid the keys into the ignition and, with a quick twist of his wrist to the right, started up the engine. Much to his satisfaction, it rumbled to life beautifully. Gripping the handlebars with both hands, Jesse stole a glance at the old photo on the dashboard.

"Don't say I never did anything nice for you, Ashe."

Turning his attention to the road before him, Jesse carefully guided the bike out of the trailer. Once clear of it, he revved up the speed and zoomed up the gorge, leaving a cloudy trail of dust behind him.

* * *

Jorge had never been more shocked in his life. He could not believe what he'd just heard. His new friend Natalie was the daughter of the legendary Elizabeth Caledonia "Calamity" Ashe, head honcho of the Deadlock Gang and his father's former partner-in-crime.

"Sh-she's your mom?" the boy stammered. Though both waitresses had returned to the kitchen he was careful to keep his voice low so only he and Natalie could hear.

Natalie nodded. "And judgin' by how your daddy was speakin' to me earlier, he probably knows, too." The girl glanced uneasily out the window. "I hope he doesn't tell anyone about me."

Jorge tilted his head questioningly. "Why not?"

"Momma doesn't want the law findin' out she has a kid," Natalie explained. "She's afraid if they do they'll take me away from her, and neither of us want that."

"Is that why you grabbed his poncho before he left?" Jorge asked.

"Yeah." The girl rested her chin in the palm of her hand as she poked at the remains of her soda with her straw. "I know what you're gonna tell me, that Momma and her gang are bad people who shouldn't be raisin' a child, and I deserve better than to be raised by criminals. I know that, but-"

Feeling tears starting to form in her eyes, Natalie closed them as tightly as she could and took a deep breath to calm herself.

"I can't leave them, Jorge. I know they've done terrible things and all, and they deserve jail, but ... they're still my family and I love them anyway. They're all the family I've ever known, and I don't know what I'd do without them. It would especially destroy Momma to lose me, 'cause if the law did find out about me they'd most likely send me to live with her parents, and she doesn't want me growin' up like she did.

"You see, my mother never had a proper family growin' up, the kind that loves you and is there for you no matter what. Sure, her folks had a ton of money to buy her whatever she wanted, but they were never there for her when it mattered; couldn't even be bothered to celebrate her birthday or Christmas with her, or comfort her after a bad day at school.

"When she got older she started gettin' in trouble with the law, even got sent to jail a number of times, to see if her parents would start payin' attention to her more, but they'd only send B.O.B. - he's Momma's butler - to get her after bailin' her out. She never told me for sure, but I'm guessin' it was in jail where she met the guys who later founded the Deadlock gang with her."

"Do you think my dad mighta been one of those guys?" Jorge asked curiously.

The girl shrugged. "Probably. Considerin' Momma's held on to his picture all these years and won't get rid of it, I think it's safe to assume he was a foundin' member, or at least someone important to her."

"How about your dad? Was he a founding member, too?"

Natalie shook her head. "Nah. Momma didn't meet him 'til much later, at a black market auction. She'd heard talk goin' around there was a new dealer in town with a knack for findin' buyers for even the hardest-to-sell items, and she wanted to meet him for herself. Luckily he didn't disappoint her, 'cause they saw each other more after that. After they'd gotten to know each other for awhile, they ... uhhhhh ..." Natalie sat upright and placed her folded hands in her lap, glancing uneasily around the room. "How should I explain this?"

"It's okay, Natalie," Jorge told her. "My parents explained that stuff to me already. I know how it works."

"Okay, then," Natalie responded, then continued her story.

"Momma had Dad over one night at the gang's main hideout and ... well, long story short they got carried away and I happened. At first Momma didn't want a kid 'cause she was afraid she'd be no better than her own parents, but Peyote - she's the gang's medicine woman and one of Momma's closest friends - convinced her to at least think it over before makin' a final decision. In the end Momma decided to keep me 'cause one, what better way was there to prove she was better than her snotty rich parents, and two, she needed someone to lead the gang should karma or the law finally catch up to her. Might as well be her own flesh and bone since she didn't trust any of the other gang members to do the job."

"Not even B.O.B. or Peyote?"

Natalie shook her head. "Nope."

"Wow, she must have some high standards," Jorge remarked.

"You don't know the half of it," Natalie responded. "Anyhow, for both our safety Momma had to lie low for about a year. No heists or anythin' else dangerous durin' that time. As soon as I was born she made sure she was there for me as much as possible, but B.O.B. and the others helped her when she needed it, 'cause it wasn't easy runnin' the gang and raisin' a kid at the same time." The girl sighed pensively. "Momma often tells me she always knew she was lucky to have such a motley yet supportive crew for her family, but she never knew just how lucky 'til I came along."

"Do you see your dad often?" Jorge asked.

"Not a whole lot," said Natalie. "He usually just calls or writes, but he does visit me from time to time. After all, I'm his kid, too, Momma reminds him."

"I don't see my dad a whole lot, either," said Jorge. "He says it's for my own safety 'cause just like your mom he's got the law and a bunch of other people after him, and he's afraid if they find out about me they'll come after me, too. He didn't even want me to come with him on this trip, but Mama wanted him to take me 'cause we hadn't had much time together the last couple years. Also, my mother works with people Dad doesn't trust for some reason, but I've been around them most of my life so they're like family to me." A smile of realization crossed the boy's face. "Kinda like how your mother's gang is like family to you."

"Looks like we have what my mother would call an 'understandin''," Natalie remarked.

Jorge chuckled. "Yeah, I guess we do." The boy scooted to the left and leaned out of the booth to get a better look at the clock. "I wonder when Dad's gonna get back."

Suddenly, Natalie's head whipped sharply over her right shoulder so she, too, could get a look at the clock. Her face fell when she saw what the time was.

"Oh, shoot!" the girl muttered when she noticed she'd stayed at the diner longer than she'd intended. "Peyote's probably sendin' someone to look for me before Momma gets back. I'd better get goin'!"

"Natalie, wha-?" Jorge started to ask, puzzled as to why his friend had jumped out of her seat and snatched up her purse so suddenly.

"I gotta get goin', Jorge," Natalie explained. "The gang's probably wonderin' where I went, and Momma'll be back from her Marauders meetin' soon." The girl fished her wallet out of her purse, removed a five dollar bill from it, and placed it on the table. "This is to tip the waitress, so don't touch it."

Jorge rolled his eyes. "I know, I know."

Natalie slung her purse over her shoulder and made her way to the door. As she stood before it, she turned to look back at Jorge one more time.

"It was nice meetin' you, Jorge. Maybe if we're lucky, we'll see each other again someday."

"It was nice meeting you, too, Natalie," Jorge called after her as he watched her scurry out of the diner and down the dusty trail leading up the gorge.

* * *

"Hurry up, let's move! Ashe will be back any second!"

Rosalee 'Peyote' Todicheene paced anxiously across the floor of the Deadlock Gang's warehouse, clapping her hands to get the attention of her fellow gang members, some of whom were sorting through various crates containing either stolen goods or emergency supplies. A few more stood idly by leaning against the walls, awaiting the return of the scouts Peyote had sent out earlier so they could take over from them.

"Gosh, Peyote, we're goin' as fast as we can!" growled Diamondback, a tall noodly-limbed man whose real name was Noah Hayes. "No need ta be yellin' down our backs like we're dogs or somethin'!"

"Yeah, don't blow a gasket!" chimed in his cousin, Lois Mae Hudson, or Hudsy, as she was called.

Peyote rolled her eyes and groaned. The medium-tall Navajo woman just knew today was going to be chaotic from the moment she woke up. Diamond and Hudsy were difficult enough to deal with on a calmer day, but on a hectic day like this one they were impossible.

The gang had hardly finished breakfast when they received a call from Ashe, who had been in California the last several days meeting with another gang, the Mojave Marauders. The Deadlock leader had decided to cut her Marauders meeting short a day early and was on her way back to Deadlock Gorge with her Omnic butler, B.O.B, who'd accompanied her to California. Peyote, whom Ashe had left in charge for the duration of her absence, wasted no time in handing out tasks to be completed before her boss's return.

Even Natalie had been given some tasks to perform, though hers were much simpler than those given to the older gang members. Ashe was adamant that everyone in her family of outlaws, including her eleven-year-old daughter, pulled their own weight.

"Just because you're my kid doesn't mean you can just slack off," the Deadlock leader would tell her daughter. "You gotta do your fair share, too. Just like everyone else."

For the most part Natalie was a good kid who finished her chores and lessons before doing anything else, but the girl was also a restless one with a habit of sneaking off without anyone else noticing. Her mother never enjoyed disciplining her, since it often reminded her of the times she'd had privileges revoked by her own wealthy yet uncaring parents, but she could not and would not allow her daughter's carelessness to compromise the gang's safety under any circumstances.

"She's just being a good mom, looking out for her kid as well as the rest of us," Peyote would tell herself whenever her overly sympathetic side felt Ashe was being too hard on Natalie. "That's what you do in a family. You look out for each other."

"Um, Peyote ..?"

Flo, the gang's cook, approached her fellow Deadlocker tentatively, her artificial eyes displaying concern.

"What is it, Flo?" Peyote asked, trying not to sound irritated.

"I can't find Natalie," the Omnic responded nervously. "I haven't seen her since I asked her to brush Cooper's dog hair off the furniture."

Peyote remained calm despite the panic in Flo's voice. "That was at least an hour ago. Did you check her room or Tino's stall?"

"I did. She isn't in either of those places."

"Peyote!"

Zeke and Terran stumbled into the warehouse, trying not to trip over anything or each other.

"Careful, you two!" Peyote scolded. "What's going on?"

Both brothers stopped in front of her to catch their breath.

"Bars says he saw McCree in the gorge," Terran wheezed.

"Oh no, not him again!" Hudsy wailed.

Peyote wasn't thrilled, either. "You sure it was McCree?" she called to Bars, who was just now entering the warehouse with P.T.

"I swear to the Iris it was him," the Omnic sniper responded. "When I saw him, he was heading for the High Side."

Before Peyote could say anything more, her comlink beeped sharply, causing the woman to flinch from the volume. Knowing very darn well who the call was from, Peyote answered it.

"Peyote, it's Ashe. I'm just now enterin' the gorge, so I should be home in about three minutes. How's everythin' holdin' up?"

As her fellow Deadlockers gathered anxiously around her, Peyote felt her stomach churn as if something was rotting inside it. What was she going to tell her boss? There was no doubt Ashe would be furious to know not only was her daughter missing, but her sworn enemy had once again dared to show his face on her turf.

_Could this day get any worse?_

"Peyote, what's goin' on? Answer me!"

Peyote shuddered as Ashe's voice thundered in her ears. Every neuron in her brain was firing rapidly, desperately trying to come up with an answer that wouldn't arouse Ashe's suspicions. The fact that several other Deadlockers were clustered around her did nothing to quell her anxiety, since it added to the feeling of walls closing in around her.

"I, um ..." Peyote felt the moisture drain from her mouth. She glanced nervously around the group surrounding her in search of assistance, but there was no help there. Her comrades were every bit on edge as she was. Diamond wrung his hands, Hudsy chewed on the nail of her right pinkie, Terran fiddled with his bandanna, Zeke and P.T. shoved their hands in their pockets and stared at the floor, and Bars cleaned his gun while Flo watched.

Seeing she was clearly on her own, Peyote took a deep breath to calm herself before giving Ashe her answer.

"We've reorganized everything in the warehouse and cleaned all the weapons like you asked."

"Excellent," Ashe responded. "No one gave you any trouble, I hope."

"No, ma'am. Even Diamond and Hudsy behaved themselves for once this time."

Diamond and Hudsy exchanged disgusted looks.

"Is Natalie doin' okay?" Ashe asked. "How's she been?"

Peyote sighed in disappointment. She knew her boss would ask about her kid at some point during the call, but she didn't expect it to be this soon.

"She misses you and B.O.B., but other than that she's fine," Peyote responded. "She's outside playing with Cooper right now." She silently pleaded that Ashe would not ask to speak with her daughter.

"Are her chores and lessons finished?"

"Her lessons are finished, but she still has a couple chores left to do. I'll make sure she finishes them."

"Alright, then. See you when I get back."

As Ashe signed off, Peyote heaved a sigh of relief, though she knew she wasn't quite out of the woods yet. There was still the matter of Natalie and McCree to deal with, and she needed to act fast if she wanted this taken care of without Ashe knowing anything was amiss.

"Alright, nobody panic!" the woman yelled, waving her arms to clear the space around her. Her comrades jumped back, startled by her sudden outburst.

"We're getting this taken care of now!" Peyote pointed at P.T., then Zeke, then Bars. "You three, come with me. We'll be dealing with McCree. Terran and Flo, you go look for Natalie. I've a hunch she's at the diner, so check there first. As for you two ..." Peyote turned her attention to Diamond and Hudsy. "You stay here and keep Ashe and B.O.B. busy til the rest of us get back."

Both cousins cried out in dismay.

"Ya can't be serious, Peyote!" Hudsy wailed. "She'll see right through us!"

"Yeah, haven't ya learned by now Hudsy and I happen to be the worst liars on the planet?" Diamond protested.

"Then let's just hope you've gotten better since last time!" Peyote responded sarcastically. As she turned to exit the warehouse, she gestured for P.T., Zeke, and Bars to follow her. "Alright, Deadlock, let's move out!"


	3. Back For Round Two?

**I've upped the story's rating because of foul language in this chapter.**

* * *

Ashe scrambled off her hoverbike almost as soon as she'd shut off its engine, relieved her drive from San Bernardino to Deadlock Gorge was finally over. Though it was by no means her longest drive, it still left her backside numb and her legs feeling like jelly from five hours of sitting on that bike seat. The Deadlock leader paused to stretch the travel kinks from her neck, back and legs before continuing on foot toward her gang's warehouse. Following close behind her was B.O.B., armed with a parasol, a tube of sunscreen, and a miniature fan in case his fair-skinned lady should need further protection other than her wide-brimmed hat from the blistering heat of the Southwestern sun.

"Peyote better not have let anythin' fall to pieces while I was gone," Ashe muttered to herself, remembering how nervous her sister-in-arms had sounded when the gang leader called to notify her crew of her arrival in the gorge. Peyote was normally the type to remain calm and collected even when everything seemed to go wrong, so it was unusual to hear her sound so uneasy, like she was trying to hide something. That sort of behavior Ashe could expect from some of the other gang members, especially Diamond and Hudsy, but never from Peyote.

_Unless ..._

Anxious to find out what had been going on during her absence, Ashe quickened her pace as she approached the warehouse, leaving B.O.B. scrambling to keep up with her. The fact that no one was there to greet her did nothing to calm her. Thoughts of possible mishaps raced through the bandit queen's mind. _Was there a rabid animal loose in the hideout? What if it bit someone? What if Diamond and Hudsy got into her private stash of special drinks again...?_ Ashe's temper flared at the mere thought of those hoodlums helping themselves to her good liquor without her say-so.

_I swear to God, if they touched even one drop of my Sapphire Revelation ..._

A joyful bark echoed through the warehouse, interrupting Ashe's train of thought. The gang leader had barely walked through the door when she was tackled by a furry grey and white blur.

"Ummph!" Just seconds after landing butt-first on the floor, Ashe was being smothered in dog kisses by none other than Cooper, Natalie's one-year-old Siberian husky.

"Get off me, you damn mutt!" Ashe protested, trying to push Cooper off her. Having her daughter's dog climb all over her, smudging her make-up with his sticky pink tongue and getting his dirty paws on her clothes was not the 'Welcome Home' greeting the Deadlock leader had been hoping for. "Mmmmffph! B.O.B! Do somethin'!"

As soon as the massive Omnic made it to the warehouse he hurried to his lady's side and yanked Cooper off her. The dog immediately got the message and bounded away as B.O.B. helped Ashe to her feet and assisted her in dusting off her clothes.

"What was I thinkin' lettin' Natalie keep that unruly animal?" Ashe groaned as she brushed bits of Cooper's fur off her Deadlock jacket. "I already got her a horse. That should've been enough!" The bandit queen sighed, half in annoyance and half in dejection, pressing her palm against her forehead as she leaned against B.O.B. for support.

"Do you think I spoil her, B.O.B? Be honest with me."

B.O.B. placed his hand under Ashe's chin and carefully guided her head toward his face until her crimson eyes met his glowing green ones. Most people would've found the Omnic's seemingly unfeeling gaze unnerving, but ever since she was a little girl Ashe had found comfort in the calm, steady glow of those eyes.

"I'm tryin' my best to parent that girl, to be there for her and give her what she deserves," the Deadlock leader mused aloud, her voice cracking, "but considerin' my own miserable upbringin' I'm probably just takin' shots in the dark most of the time. There's so much I'm not sure I'm doin' right ..." She paused to sniff back the tears starting to form in her eyes, then added with a soft chuckle, "At least you seem to know what you're doin', huh, B.O.B? You did raise me, after all."

Ashe raised her arm and placed her hand against the side of B.O.B.'s face, then grinned as the Omnic responded by placing his hand against her back and pulling her into a metallic but comforting embrace.

"I'm just glad you're here for me - for both of us - every step of the way," Ashe whispered, pressing her cheek against her butler's metal chest. "I know Natalie can be a real pain in the butt when she wants, but I love her dearly, and I know you do, too. All I want is for my daughter to - "

"Um, boss ..?"

Ashe pulled herself from B.O.B.'s embrace, irritated that the moment she and her Omnic were sharing had been interrupted - and by Diamond, of all people!

"What is it now, Diamond?" the Deadlock leader growled.

The man shuffled his hands and stared at the floor, trying to avoid eye contact with either Ashe or B.O.B. Apparently the latter wasn't any more pleased by the gang member's interruption than the former was.

"I, um, heard Cooper bark and, uh, I was just wonderin' if ya needed me to bring in your luggage for ya," Diamond responded.

Ashe crossed her arms and arched her eyebrows quizzically. Diamond was not the kind of person who offered to carry out tasks so promptly and willingly. On most days, the lazy bum had to be dragged out of bed by B.O.B.

_Something was definitely off here._

"Since when are you so eager so get somethin' done, Noah?" Ashe asked, using Diamond's real name to show she wasn't kidding around. "You and Lois aren't tryin' to distract me or anythin', are you? 'Cause I'm not in the mood for games!"

"Of course not, ma'am!" the Deadlock grunt answered nervously. "It's just that Bars and the triplets are still out scoutin', Flo's cleanin' up the kitchen, and Peyote's checkin' on her plants, so that leaves me and Hudsy. Unless, of course," he added, noticing B.O.B. was glaring suspiciously at him, "ya want B.O.B. to do it."

"Actually," hummed Ashe, tipping her head thoughtfully to one side and pressing a finger to her cheek, "B.O.B.'s pretty tired from that drive, too, so ..." Suddenly a sinister smirk appeared on her face. "Yeah, why don't you fetch my bags?"

Diamond felt the food he'd eaten for breakfast that morning threaten to burst from his stomach. He knew Ashe was on to him; he knew there was no underestimating her ability to find out something was up.

_Why, oh why did Peyote make me stay here to deal with Ashe?_

"Um, okay then," Diamond responded, grinning sheepishly as he scooted toward the door. "I'll just, um, go get those bags for you. Where do you want me to put 'em?"

"Just drop them off outside my office," Ashe answered. "B.O.B. and I'll take care of 'em later."

"Al-righty, then."

As Diamond hurried out of the warehouse to fetch Ashe's luggage, Hudsy, who had been observing the exchange between her cousin and boss from behind a shelf, emerged from her hiding place. Taking care not to be noticed right away, the Deadlock grunt quietly followed Ashe and B.O.B. as they left the storage area and made their way to the base's main living area.

"Get me somethin' to drink, will ya, B.O.B?" Ashe demanded as she took a seat on her favorite sofa, a charcoal-grey chaise lounge. "Somethin' from my private stash, I don't care what. Just surprise me."

Hudsy watched as B.O.B. strode down the hall leading to Ashe's office. As soon as the Omnic was out of sight, the woman casually entered the living room, pretending to not notice Ashe until she was about to walk pass the sofa where the Deadlock leader was sitting.

"Oh, Ashe, hello!" Hudsy exclaimed, pretending to be surprised to see her boss sitting right before her. "How was your trip? Did the Marauders give you any trouble?"

Ashe remained quiet, watching Hudsy through narrowed eyes like a cat might watch a mouse, waiting for the right moment to strike. After a minute of both women staring quietly at each other, Ashe rose from her seat.

"What kind of damn fool do you take me for, Lois?" the older woman hissed. "Do you still think I can't tell when you and Noah are tryin' to pull somethin' off? Do you still think I haven't wised up to your little tricks yet?"

"I, um, have no idea what you're talkin' about," Hudsy stuttered. Her gaze started to drift away from Ashe's face when the older woman grabbed her by the chin and forced her to look her in the face again.

"Don't you dare lie to me, Lois Mae Hudson!" Ashe snarled. "I know what you and your idiot cousin are tryin' to hide, and boy am I gonna do what I said I'd do last time I caught you clowns guzzlin' my good liquor like it was soda pop!"

Hudsy whimpered as her boss's fingernails dug into her cheeks. She honestly wasn't sure whether to be alarmed or relieved that Ashe was suspecting her of breaking into her private liquor stash and not of covering for Peyote and Natalie. But then again, there wasn't anything to be relieved about because either way she was screwed.

Just as the Deadlock leader was about to hand down Hudsy's punishment, she felt a firm tap on her shoulder.

"Wha -?" Ashe's head whipped over her shoulder as she let go of Hudsy, causing the younger woman to fall butt-first to the floor. Standing directly behind his lady was B.O.B., holding a silver tray on which rested a fancy but half-full bottle of bourbon and a glass filled with liquor from the bottle.

Ashe helped herself to the glass and seated herself once more on the sofa. "Thanks, B.O.B." The Omnic nodded in response and placed the tray on the small table in front of the sofa.

"One more thing, B.O.B.," said Ashe. "Was everything in my stash just the way I left it? Every bottle had the same amount of liquor as last time I checked?"

B.O.B. nodded.

"No signs of tamperin' with the security or anythin'?"

The Omnic shook his head.

"Well, then," Ashe remarked, swishing her drink back and forth in its glass as she turned her attention back to Hudsy, who by now had pulled herself from the floor and was dusting off her pants. "I guess I owe you an apology, Hudsy. No hard feelings?"

Hudsy shook her head. "No, ma'am."

"Want somethin' to drink? I can have B.O.B. fetch another glass."

"Um, no thanks, I'm good," Hudsy responded. "I'm, uh, gonna go see if Diamond needs any help with the luggage."

Ashe nodded, taking a sip of her bourbon as Hudsy hurried back toward the storage area, where Diamond was waiting for his cousin with Ashe's luggage in tow.

"That ... was close!" Hudsy wheezed. "I thought Ashe was gonna have B.O.B. wax the floor with my face fer sure!"

"Why? What happened?" Diamond asked as he handed Hudsy one of the bags to carry.

"She thought we got into her special drinks again," Hudsy responded, shuddering as she accepted the bag.

"Did she say anythin' 'bout Natalie?"

"Not yet." Hudsy glanced nervously back toward the living room. "But I'll bet she'll wanna check on her soon as she finishes her drink, so Terran and Flo better find her fast or we're dead!"

Diamond nodded in agreement. Bags in hand, the cousins were about to proceed back toward the living area when they heard Cooper barking again.

"Probably the others back from dealin' with McCree," Hudsy remarked when Diamond looked back toward the warehouse entrance, wondering what the dog's deal was this time. Diamond, however, wasn't convinced.

"I don't think so. Listen."

Hudsy rolled her eyes but agreed to listen if only to shut her cousin up. Sure enough, she could hear a human voice in addition to the excited yelps from the dog, but it didn't sound like Peyote, the triplets, or the Omnics. It sounded like a young girl's voice, almost like ...

Diamond and Hudsy threw down the bags and hurried into the storage area, eager to find out if their suspicions were correct. There, sitting on her butt on the warehouse floor, was Natalie, squirming and trying to shove Cooper away as he climbed all over her while licking her face.

"Cut it out, the others will hear!" the girl protested. "I'm fine, really!"

As soon as she managed to squirm free of Cooper, Natalie jumped to her feet. She was about to head into the living room when she noticed Hudsy and Diamond watching her. She immediately froze, looking very much like a deer caught in the headlights of someone's car.

"Have a nice walk?" Diamond asked, eyes narrowed and arms folded across his chest.

"How are things at the diner?" Hudsy chimed in, narrowing her eyes like Diamond's as she placed her hands on her hips.

Natalie hung her head while grabbing her arm with her other hand, as she often did when she was about to be scolded.

"Do the others ... know I was at the diner?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"As a matter of fact, they do," Hudsy told her crossly. "Peyote sent Flo and Terran out to look for ya just before your momma got back."

Natalie gasped, her face turning pale. "Does Momma know, too?"

"Not yet," Diamond replied. "But we'll tell ya what. Just this once we won't tell your ma, but we will talk more 'bout this privately, soon as Peyote and the others take care of ol' Jesse McCr-"

"Diamond!" Hudsy warned.

Diamond rolled his eyes. "It's just gonna be a one-time only thing, Huds. Next time for sure we'll be tellin' her momma."

"I'm afraid her momma already knows."

Diamond shrieked, horrified that the responding voice was not his cousin's. Standing just behind the trio was Ashe, arms folded across her chest, an expression of fury upon her face and an equally infuriated B.O.B. at her side. Apparently the Deadlock leader had heard everything her daughter and fellow gang members just said.

"You three are gonna march right into my office," Ashe growled as the cousins and Natalie cowered before her, "and you're gonna tell me the truth, the whole truth, and nothin' but the truth, so help you God, about what the Sam Hill you're all tryin' to hide from me!" She jabbed her finger in the direction leading to her office. "Now march!"

* * *

_"... Wish I could roll on back to that old town road, I wanna ride 'til I can't no more ..."_

Jesse grinned as he listened to the song playing on the hoverbike's radio. "Old Town Road", by Lil Nas X. Such fond memories of youthful mischief that song brought back. A chuckle escaped the cowboy's mouth as he recalled himself singing that ridiculous but catchy tune while Ashe yelled and threatened to have B.O.B. toss him into the nearest volcano if he didn't shut up at once.

Oh, how Ashe hated that song! Absolutely despised it! There were plenty of songs that ground the Deadlock leader's gears, but "Old Town Road" was number one on her hate list, with Big And Rich's "Save A Horse Ride A Cowboy" coming in a close second. Sometimes Jesse would switch to singing the latter when Ashe told him to quit singing the former, but only if he really felt like getting under her skin.

As soon as the song ended, Jesse shut off the engine, swung his leg over the seat, and slid off the bike he'd just parked in an abandoned garage across the road from the clubhouse known as The High Side. After placing a note he'd written earlier on the bike's dashboard, next to the old photo of himself and Ashe, the cowboy stepped out of the shady garage and into the scorching warmth of the Arizona sun, squinting to keep the sunlight from stinging his eyes.

Though the winds of time had left their mark on most of the structures in the area, there was still quite a bit that remained unchanged. The Deadlock logo painted on the front of the clubhouse still stood out loud and proud despite having faded from its original pristine white to a pale brownish gray. The signs outside the Cave Inn continued to advertise the "best prices in town", as well as color TV and air conditioning, in spite of the building looking like it was about to literally cave in.

As much as he would have liked to stick around and reminisce about his days as a youthful and incorrigible outlaw, Jesse knew he had no time for that if he wanted to get himself and Jorge out of the gorge without the Deadlock Gang noticing either of them. The cowboy had hardly taken a step in the direction leading back to the diner when something whizzed past his ear, only to end up stuck in one of the eyes of the skull that made up part of the logo painted on the clubhouse.

Jesse froze, cautiously touching a hand to his Peacekeeper as his eyes swept over his surroundings in search of the person who threw the knife at him. It didn't take long to find her.

"Peyote," Jesse remarked as soon as he noticed the black-haired, bronze-skinned Navajo woman emerging from her hiding place. "Still handy with the knives, I see."

"Shut your damn mouth, Jesse McCree!" Peyote snarled. She retrieved another knife from a scabbard sewn into one of her boots. "You've got some nerve showing your ugly face here after humiliating us so bad!"

Jesse chuckled. "Don't tell me you're all still sore about that foiled train heist. That was twelve years ago."

"That foiled heist made us the laughingstock of a good chunk of the Southwest!" Peyote snapped back. "It was a miracle Ashe somehow managed to salvage our reputation after you almost destroyed it with that little stunt of yours!"

"Hey, it didn't have to be that way," Jesse protested. "I was tryin' to be reasonable, but she was lookin' for a fight."

Peyote continued to glare at Jesse for a few more seconds before raising her arm and snapping her fingers. Suddenly, P.T. and Zeke leaped from their hiding places and rushed toward Jesse. Before the cowboy could react both Deadlock goons grabbed his arms and forced him to the ground on both knees. Bars stepped on to the balcony surrounding the second story of the clubhouse and aimed his sniper rifle at Jesse's head.

Peyote grinned maliciously as she strode toward the struggling cowboy, twirling her knife in one hand. As soon as she reached him she, too, knelt to the ground so that the two of them made eye contact.

"You know," the woman mused aloud, placing the sharp edge of her knife against Jesse's throat, "I could just end you right now, save Ashe the trouble."

Jesse's breath hitched as the blade scraped his skin, but the cowboy remained calm.

"You're right, Peyote," Jesse responded matter-of-factly. "You could just end me here and now, and Ashe would never have to deal with me ever again." He closed his eyes and grinned smugly. "But if there's one thing I know about Ashe, it's that if anyone is gonna be killin' Jesse McCree, she wants that person to be her and no one else. If someone else, even a trusted brother or sister-in-arms, were to claim that honor, I imagine she'd make that person's life a livin' hell."

Jesse opened his eyes and continued to grin at Peyote, whose malicious expression had just been replaced with a hesitant one.

"So what's it gonna be, Peyote? You want to risk Ashe's wrath for the rest of your life or not? 'Cause trust me, it won't be any fun at all."

Suddenly, Peyote's mouth and throat felt drier than the scorching pavement beneath her feet. As someone who'd been one of Ashe's closest friends for years, she knew Jesse wasn't kidding around when he said the bandit queen wanted to be the one to do away with the ex-Deadlocker for good. If someone else were to beat her to it ... boy, would that person have ultimate hell to pay, no matter how close they were to the Deadlock leader!

"I ... uhhmm ..." Peyote slowly began to retract her knife, unsure of how to respond.

That moment of uncertainty was all Jesse needed. If there was one thing he remembered from his Deadlock days, it was that Rosalee "Peyote" Todicheene was a tough nut to crack most of the time, but once she did crack, her comrades would fall soon after, much like dominoes. As soon as he felt P.T.'s and Zeke's grips on him loosen in response to Peyote's hesitation, the cowboy flung his arms back with as much strength as he could muster, sending both brothers falling butt-first to the searing pavement.

Jesse jumped to his feet and quickly drew his Peacekeeper from its scabbard, dodging a bullet from Bars as he spun to the left and hurled one of his flashbang grenades at Zeke and P.T. as they tried to get up. Peyote, too, scrambled to her feet and prepared to throw her knife at Jesse, only for it to be shot out of her hand.

"Peyote! What the Sam Hill is goin' on here?!" Everyone immediately froze when they saw where the shot that deflected Peyote's knife came from. Standing on a ledge overlooking the clearing was Ashe, clutching her still-smoking Viper rifle. B.O.B. stood at her side, cracking his knuckles in eager anticipation.

"I can explain," Peyote called up to her boss.

Ashe, however, ignored her and turned her attention to Jesse.

"Well, well, if it isn't Jesse McCree," the crime queen purred venomously. "Didn't get enough last time, so ya came back for round two, eh?"

Jesse returned his gun to its scabbard and held up both hands as if in surrender.

"I'm just here to return somethin', Ashe," the cowboy explained. "I didn't want any trouble, but your goons here jumped me."

"Likely story!" Peyote sneered.

Ashe shot her a look that told her to be quiet.

"Heard you were in California meetin' with the Mojave Marauders," Jesse continued, "so I didn't think I'd run into you here."

"I decided to return a day early," Ashe responded. "That Marauders leader was bein' a pain in the ass. It was like tryin' to negotiate with a brick wall."

"Sorry to hear that," said Jesse, "but as much as I'd like to stay and chat, I'd best be on my way now, if ya don't mind."

As the ex-Deadlocker turned to head back to the diner, Ashe turned to B.O.B. and nodded sharply. The gargantuan Omnic sprang from his perch on the ledge, landed on the pavement with a thud, and sprinted toward Jesse, eager to catch the cowboy before he could escape. Just as Jesse was about to disappear around the corner, he was intercepted by Terran and Flo, who were returning from the diner after having failed to find Natalie there. The three of them collided and fell to the pavement, giving B.O.B. enough time to catch up with Jesse and grab him.

"Looks like we got here just in time," moaned Terran as he pulled himself to his feet. "You okay, Flo?"

"Fine," the medium Omnic responded. After Terran helped her to her feet, the two of them followed B.O.B. as he dragged a struggling Jesse back to Ashe, who by now had jumped from her ledge to the ground and was making her way toward her butler and captive.

"You're not goin' anywhere, Jesse," the gang leader sneered. "Not until you tell me exactly what it is you're 'returning'. I'll have you know no one leaves anythin' on my turf and then runs off without explainin' himself."

Jesse sighed. "There's no need to make a big deal outta this."

"Oh, I think there is," Ashe responded, her voice dripping acid. "You see, I've had people leave me gifts before, and more often than not those gifts turned out to be wolves in sheep's clothing. I can't afford to let my guard down, even for you." The woman's eyes narrowed into scarlet slits. "Now, we're gonna stay here until you tell me what you just left on my doorstep, even if it takes all day. So you best start talkin'!"

Jesse hung his head in dejection. He should've known Ashe would insist on doing things her way.

"Hope that kid of hers didn't inherit her ma's 'my way, no highway' attitude," he muttered. He must have said it louder than he meant to, because suddenly Ashe's eyes widened in shock as a sharp gasp escaped her mouth and her grip on her rifle released, causing the weapon to fall to the ground with a loud _clack_ that echoed through the gorge.

"W-what did you just say?" Ashe stammered, her voice now full of fear instead of fury. "H-How did you-?" The realization that her old rival knew about her daughter had every neuron in the Deadlock leader's brain firing out of control, causing her to feel dizzy and nauseous.

"Ashe, what the heck -?" Peyote rushed toward her boss to calm her, then quickly stopped when the reason for Ashe's sudden change in demeanor dawned on her.

_He knows about Natalie!_

Jesse grunted as B.O.B. threw him to the ground in his haste to catch Ashe before she fainted. As the other Deadlockers began to cluster anxiously around their leader, the cowboy was about to get up when he felt a fist grab him by the hair on the back of his head and, once again, the sharp edge of a knife press against his throat.

"I'm warning you, Jesse McCree!" he heard Peyote's voice snarl in his ear. "If the law or Ashe's parents end up finding out about Natalie because of you, I will hunt you straight to hell!" The woman released her grip on the man, dropping him to the ground once more. "Now get out of here before one of us decides to kill you after all."

Not waiting to be told again, Jesse scrambled to his feet and hurried down the gorge, now more determined than ever to get himself and Jorge safely out of there.


	4. Aftermath

**A/N: Apologies in advance if the Spanish words/phrases in this chapter are inaccurate.**

* * *

"You told me she'd be in California til tomorrow!" Jesse shouted into the communications device attached to the dashboard of his pick-up truck. "Well guess what? I got to the gorge and there she was about ready to end me! You tryin' to get us killed or what?"

"Hey! Chill out, v_aquero_!" protested his informant, who also happened to be Jorge's mother, Olivia. "How was I supposed to know she was gonna return home a day early?"

"Oh, I don't know!" Jesse sighed in exasperation. "Aren't you supposed to be some kind of master hacker or somethin'? I just don't see how you could've missed it."

"I may be a hacker, but I'm not a mind reader. I can't guess when people make last-minute changes to their plans."

Jorge sat quietly in the passenger's seat, listening to his parents' heated conversation as his father continued his drive toward Flagstaff. It had been less than ten minutes since father and son left Deadlock Gorge - almost as soon as he returned to the diner Jesse had pretty much snatched Jorge out of the booth and tossed him into the truck in his haste to leave. Jorge was surprised by his father's sudden eagerness to flee the gorge, but didn't say a word about it, deciding it would be better to wait until Jesse had calmed down.

"Well, consider yourself lucky Jorge and I both made it out alive and unhurt," Jesse told Olivia. "But now I'm worried Ashe knows about Jorge and might use him against me."

"Why? What happened?" Olivia asked.

"I had just dropped off the package near the High Side when I was ambushed by four gang members," Jesse responded. "I managed to fight them off me, but then Ashe and her B.O.B. unit showed up before I could escape. Thankfully she didn't notice Jorge herself because I made him wait in the diner, but I saw two other gang members comin' up the gorge from that direction, so I'm afraid they might've seen him and probably told Ashe about him." The cowboy paused, taking several deep breaths in an attempt to keep his temper in check so he wouldn't scare Jorge.

"I told you somethin' like this would happen! Why didn't you listen to me when I said I couldn't take Jorge right now?"

"Settle down, _vaquero_," said Olivia. "Did you ask Jorge if he saw anyone come into the diner before you returned for him? Those Deadlock goons might not have even set foot in the diner, let alone noticed him in there."

Jesse shook his head. "Not yet. I wanted to get us both out of there before one of Ashe's cronies decided to kill me after all."

"They didn't hurt me, Dad."

As soon as the words left Jorge's mouth, Jesse quickly pulled over, anxious to hear his son's side of the story.

"Two people did come into the diner before you came back, but they were only there to look for Natalie."

"Wait, who?" Olivia asked.

"There was a girl - a couple of years older than Jorge, I suppose - at the diner when we arrived," Jesse explained. "Tell us more, son."

"Natalie left the diner not long after you did. She said her family might be wondering where she was. Soon after she left a man wearing goggles and a spiky helmet and an Omnic lady wearing an apron and a bandanna on her head came into the diner."

"Did they see you or say anythin' to you?" Jesse asked.

"I hid under the table so they wouldn't see me," Jorge answered. "They were asking the waitress if she'd seen Natalie, but she told them she'd just left. Then just as they were leaving the man asked if anyone else had been at the diner that day, and the waitress said ..." the boy paused his story, knowing his father would not be happy to hear what happened next.

"She said a man and a boy had been there, too. I'm pretty sure she was talking about us, 'cause she mentioned your metal arm and your belt buckle."

Jesse hung his head as his grip on the steering wheel tightened. There was no doubt in his mind that Deadlock knew about his son now, or would once the story reached Ashe's ears. The Deadlock leader had always been good at connecting the dots with whatever information she was given, no matter how little there was or how insignificant it might seem.

"Jesse, I'm sorry ..." Olivia began.

"No, Livi, we both should've been more vigilant," Jesse interrupted her. "As someone who's known Ashe for years and was in her gang once, I guess I should've remembered it was a regular thing of hers to make last-minute changes to her plans back in the day and anticipated her early return to the gorge." The cowboy paused before continuing. "But what's done is done, and all we can do now is do whatever we can to protect Jorge from any possible threats Deadlock may make against him."

"Still, I should've waited until after you'd finished your errand before asking you to take him," Olivia responded. "But I have some information we might be able to use against _Señorita Calamidad_ in case she lays a finger on our _querido hijo_." Here her voice took on a more sinister tone. "It just so happens a friend of Akande's, Sergio Rinaldi, knows a couple named Ashe who were business consultants for years, but have recently retired."

Jesse scratched his chin thoughtfully. "They certainly sound like Ashe's parents; do you know their first names?"

"Hold on, let me check." A couple minutes of silent searching later, Olivia was able to provide an answer. "Here we are: Addison and Allison Ashe."

"That's them, alright," said Jesse. "But they've know about their daughter's criminal lifestyle for years now. I don't see how gettin' them involved would ..." Suddenly the cowboy felt the air around him grow cold as it dawned on him what Olivia's intentions were.

"Hold up, now! Don't tell me you know about ..!"

Olivia cackled. "So you know too, eh, _vaquero_?"

Jesse was about ready to spew every swear word he knew into the communicator. So Olivia knew Ashe had a young daughter as well. Of course it should've come as no surprise to him; she was the master hacker known worldwide as Sombra, after all. Once again, the cowboy took a deep breath to calm himself before continuing the conversation.

"Where did you learn about Ashe's daughter?" he asked.

"Aren't you forgetting something, Jesse?" Olivia responded slyly. "I'm the master hacker Sombra. I've got the hottest dirt on everybody who's anybody in this world, including criminal masterminds like your friend Ashe."

"Would you just cut the crap already, Livi?" Jesse moaned. "I don't have time for this."

Olivia sighed in exasperation. "Fine, you killjoy. I was in Deadlock Gorge with Akande, Moira, and Amelie two months ago. While the other three were negotiating or something with the bandito bitch herself, I was helping myself to whatever useful information the Deadlock base's computers had to offer when this brute of an Omnic caught me. I managed to escape him by hacking him, too, but it wasn't until we'd returned to HQ that I was able to take a good look at the information I'd gained. At first it didn't seem like that big a deal to me - I mean, Ashe, head honcho of the Deadlock gang, has a kid, big whoop - but then I remembered Sergio mentioning he knew Ashe's parents, so I thought that little bit of information might come in handy in case Ashe decided to get cocky with us."

Jorge felt an uncomfortable feeling rising in his stomach; he wasn't sure if he liked where this was going.

"Surely the oh so feared-by-many leader of the infamous Deadlock Gang wouldn't want word reaching the wrong ears that she has a child, an heir to her criminal empire," Olivia continued. "I imagine that woman has a long list of adversaries who would jump at the chance to make that poor girl a target. And then there's the chance - a slim one, of course, but it's still a chance - of Granny and Grandpappy Ashe demanding custody of the grandchild who will probably be their last chance at redeeming the family's good name after their wayward daughter's been tarnishing it for so long." The Mexican woman shook her head while making a soft tsk-ing sound. "Such a calamity for the woman who calls herself 'Calamity'; oh, the irony."

Jesse closed his eyes and pressed his lips together tightly as he continued to clutch the steering wheel. He wasn't sure if he liked Olivia's proposal. Sure, Ashe was never afraid to get her hands dirty when she knew she'd gain something from it, and the cowboy wouldn't put it past her to harm his son to get back at him; however, he felt it still didn't justify exposing the outlaw queen's daughter to her mother's enemies or to her wealthy yet unloving grandparents.

_It just shouldn't have to be that way_, Jesse thought.

"Dad ..?" Jorge looked apprehensively at his father. He remembered what Natalie had told him back at the diner, about her mother not wanting her daughter to have the same lonely upbringing she'd had as a kid.

"Jesse, are you still there?" Olivia asked, wondering what was taking Jesse so long to respond.

Jesse remained silent for another minute, then heaved a heavy sigh as he relaxed his grip on the steering wheel.

"Livi," the cowboy said in a tone that he meant business. "I want you to promise me somethin'."

"I'm listening," Olivia responded.

"Promise me that you won't tell anyone - not a single soul, you hear me? - about Ashe's daughter without discussin' the matter with me first. The idea of usin' someone's child as leverage against them never did sit well with me, and I'd rather not take such a drastic measure except as a last resort. Right now we still aren't sure if Jorge is in any danger from Ashe or the Deadlock Gang yet. Let's just keep an eye on them for now, and if either of us notices any sign they might go after Jorge, we'll let each other know and decide together where to go from there." Jesse paused, then quickly added, "Oh, and make sure any of your Talon associates who also know leave that girl alone; got it?"

"Got it," Olivia replied.

"Great. I'd better get goin' now; it's gettin' late and I don't want to keep my friend waitin'. However, there is a favor I'd like to ask of you. I'll call you again tonight and give you the specifics."

"Sure, _vaquero_. You and Jorge take care. _Adios_."

As soon as Olivia signed off, Jesse pulled the truck out of parking and back on to the road to continue the drive. As he reached for the radio to turn it on for some music, he noticed Jorge huddled in the passenger seat, legs drawn up against his chest as he stared out the window. Wondering what was bothering his son, Jesse moved his hand away from the radio.

"Somethin' wrong, little buddy?"

Jorge remained quiet as he continued to gaze out the window. Jesse was reaching for his son's shoulder when he suddenly realized what was bothering the boy.

"You're worried about your friend Natalie, aren't you?"

At the mention of his new friend, Jorge turned to face his father, tears beginning to leak from his eyes. After a minute of uneasy silence, the boy leaned toward Jesse and threw his arms around his father's middle in a tight hug, sobbing.

"Please don't let anyone take Natalie from her family! I know they're bad people who might hurt me if they get the chance, but they're still her family and she loves them, and they love her! Especially her mother."

Jesse gently placed his hand on his son's shoulder.

"Son, listen to me," he said softly.

Jorge lifted his head so that he and Jesse made eye contact.

"Like I told your mama, we aren't sure if you're in any danger from the Deadlock Gang just yet. For now we're just gonna wait and see what they'll do next, and if there's any sign they might come after you, we'll do what we can to make sure neither you or Natalie are harmed. I can't promise you she won't be taken from her mother, but if she is I'll see what I can do to make sure she goes to a lovin' family who'll allow her to have contact with her mother as often as she needs. Okay?"

"Okay, Dad," said Jorge, wiping his tears from his eyes as he sat upright again. He was about to look out the window again when he remembered something he'd been wanting to ask his father since they'd stopped at the diner.

"Hey, Dad, I'm just curious. How did you meet her? That Ashe lady who leads the Deadlock Gang, I mean."

Jesse chuckled. "Well, son, that's quite an interesting story. But I've got to concentrate on drivin' now, so how about we wait until we've settled in at the Cyruses'?"

"Alright," Jorge agreed.

As he turned his attention back to the road, Jesse's eyes grew misty as he thought of Ashe and her daughter. All her life the heiress-turned-outlaw had longed for nothing more than the closeness and unconditional love only a family could provide. Sure, she had her gang, but as far as the cowboy knew that girl would more than likely be the closest thing to a real family his former partner-in-crime would ever have.

_With our relationship as rocky enough as it is, I'd hate to be responsible for takin' that from her_, Jesse thought sorrowfully. _I pray it doesn't come to that._

In an attempt to soothe his uneasy conscience he reached once more for the radio and adjusted the knob until he came to a station playing a familiar song.

_"Get your gun, kiss your wife, and lock up your daughter_

_Don't let her fall in love with the pale rider ..." _

* * *

"Dang, not again!"

Natalie groaned as the old bullet she was trying to roll across her knuckles slipped off her hand once more, landing on the floor with a soft chink that to her ears felt more like a hammer on an anvil.

"How the heck does Momma do it?" the girl wondered as she scooped the bullet off the floor for what felt like the thousandth time. In her mind she could see Ashe rolling that bullet across her hand effortlessly, much like Doc Holliday from _Tombstone_ with his coin, but every time Natalie attempted the same trick the bullet slipped and fell from her hand after rolling across the first two fingers.

As she held up the bullet for inspection, Natalie noticed it looked very similar to the ones on the hat the man from the diner wore, the very same man in the picture on her mother's dartboard. Jesse McCree; that was his name, she'd learned from Diamond and Hudsy during Ashe's interrogation of the three of them. Well, it was mostly Diamond and Hudsy who were being interrogated; Ashe told her daughter she'd deal with her later in private. Natalie never did like it when her mother made her wait for her punishment because of that "waiting for the ax to fall" feeling she always got during the wait.

_Perhaps having to wait to be punished is part of the punishment itself_, she thought. _I just hope Momma's okay._

When the gang returned from the confrontation with McCree a couple hours ago, Ashe was being carried by B.O.B. Her breathing was faster than normal and she was shivering in spite of the heat. When Natalie tried to get a closer look, Peyote shooed her away and told her to wait somewhere while she, B.O.B., and Flo took care of her mother.

An impatient whinny came from the stalls that housed Natalie's and Ashe's horses. Deciding that was enough bullet-rolling practice for now, Natalie slid the bullet into her pocket and walked toward one of the stalls, where the long black face of her horse Tarantino was waiting to greet her.

"Hey there, Tino." The girl smiled as she reached out to scratch the horse's neck. "Miss me?"

The Arabian gelding leaned his head further out of his stall and nipped playfully at Natalie's hair. The girl giggled as she took a few steps back so Tino couldn't reach her hair anymore.

"Okay, boy, I get the message. Just give me a sec."

Tino tossed his head and snorted impatiently as he watched Natalie open her purse and remove a peppermint. After unwrapping the small disc-shaped candy, the girl held it out to her horse, who eagerly snatched it from the palm of her hand with an audible _chomp_.

"Impatient, now aren't we?" Natalie remarked with a small shake of her head. Tino never did like waiting, especially for food or treats.

The sound of the crunching candy caught the attention of Ashe's horse Silverado, who was housed in the stall next to Tino's. Not wanting to be left out of treat time, the light grey Andalusian mare leaned her head out of her stall and nickered to get Natalie's attention.

"Don't worry, Silver," said the girl as she retrieved a second peppermint from her purse. "You get one, too."

Unlike Tino, Silver waited quietly for Natalie to present the treat to her on an open palm before accepting it with a delicate sip.

"See how patiently Silver waits for her treats?" Natalie playfully teased Tino. "Why don't you learn some manners, too?"

Not in the least impressed by the mare's 'manners', the gelding snorted and stomped his hoof in response.

Natalie, shocked at her horse's rudeness, crossed her arms over chest and arched her eyebrows. "Excuse me?" The girl was about to scold Tino further when the horse released a loud, gassy fart from his behind.

"Yeeeeaaacccchhhhhh!" Natalie gagged as the stink reached her nose, causing her to feel as if she might vomit right then and there. But her stomach held on to its contents like a champ, even after she retched twice more from the smell.

"I ought to turn you into dog food and feed you to Cooper for that!" Natalie scolded once she recovered from the effects of the foul stench of Tino's bowels on her respiratory and digestive systems. Tino nickered dismissively, to which Natalie responded by rolling her eyes and muttering "Rude!" as she turned sharply away from her horse. A few seconds of stone-cold silence later, however, the horse nuzzled his girl's shoulder as if apologizing for his behavior. A small smile crossed the girl's face when she felt Tino's steamy breath on her neck.

"Oh, who'm I kiddin'?" Natalie giggled softly as she reached for her horse's head and pressed her cheek against his. "I can't stay mad at you." Though Tino could sometimes be frustrating to deal with, Natalie had to constantly remind herself to be patient with him because, as her father always said, he was only a horse and that was all he knew how to be.

"There you are!"

Natalie flinched in surprise, but kept calm so Tino wouldn't be spooked. Standing in the doorway of the stable was one of her mother's gang members, Gavin Barnes, a medium brown-skinned man of about thirty. At his side was Cooper

"Oh, hey, Gavin," Natalie greeted him as he and Cooper approached her. "How's Momma doin'?"

The sympathetic look Gavin gave Natalie caused the girl's stomach to feel queasy.

"Peyote says she's calmed down and is ready to see ya."

Natalie felt her heart sink to her boots. The moment she'd been dreading was finally here. Ashe would no doubt have some choice words for her.

"Alright."

The girl quietly followed Gavin and Cooper to her mother's office, the air around her feeling more and more cold with every step she took. When they reached the office, Gavin knocked on the door to let his boss know he'd brought her daughter.

"Come in."

Natalie stepped into the room as soon as Gavin opened the door. Ashe was seated just behind her desk, stirring a cup of tea with a tiny silver spoon. B.O.B. stood to her left, holding on to an empty chair.

"You can leave now, Gavin."

As soon as Gavin closed the door behind him, leaving Natalie in the room, Ashe turned to B.O.B. and nodded sharply. The Omnic placed the chair a few feet before the desk, making sure the smaller piece of furniture was directly facing the larger one.

"Sit," the Deadlock leader sternly ordered her daughter.

As she seated herself in the chair, Natalie tried to avoid eye contact with her mother, but she could still feel Ashe's scarlet glare burning into her. The sympathetic looks B.O.B. kept giving her did nothing to soothe the girl's conscience.

"Young lady," Ashe began grimly, "I am very disappointed in you."

"I know," the girl responded softly.

"Do you have any idea how much danger you've put yourself in right now? Now that McCree knows about you, there's no tellin' how soon anyone he might be workin' with- Overwatch, Talon, the police, who knows? -will know as well. I've told you so many times why you can't just sneak off like that. There are people out there who would use you as a pawn to get whatever they wanted out of me, maybe even kill you if they got the chance! Just what were you thinkin'?"

Natalie lowered her head and stared at the floor. She wasn't sure how to answer that question.

"I guess ... um... I wasn't plannin' to be gone long and didn't think you guys would even notice," she answered lamely.

Ashe shook her head and groaned in exasperation. "You never think, do you, Natalie? Do you ever consider the consequences of your actions, not just for yourself, but for the rest of the gang, too? Have you ever considered the likelihood you might be endangerin' your own family because you don't think before doin' somethin'?"

"I ...I'm sorry!" Natalie blurted. Her eyes stung with the tears forming in them, but she fought the urge to cry. "How was I supposed to know that McCree guy would be at the diner? It's not like I can see into the damn future or nothin'!"

The whole world seemed to stop as soon as the outburst left the girl's mouth. Ashe and B.O.B. stared at Natalie without saying a word for a minute before the Deadlock leader finally broke the silence.

"First off, watch your mouth when speakin' to me, young lady. Second, expectin' you to learn to anticipate the possible outcomes of your actions or decisions is not, as you say, 'expectin' you to see into the future'; it's teachin' you a valuable lesson that just might end up savin' you a lot of trouble when you lead the gang someday."

Ashe closed her eyes as if reflecting on a particular memory, then opened them again before continuing.

"Just because I'm a hardened outlaw doesn't mean I never have any regrets. I've made quite a few unwise decisions in the past, done things I wish I hadn't. But there was this one time in particular that stands out from the rest, one I still think about even to this day."

"What do you mean?" Natalie asked.

Hesitant to continue, Ashe looked at B.O.B., who responded with a nod of his head. The bandit queen took several breaths for composure before finally answering her daughter.

"Because of a bad call I made, I lost a very dear friend of mine.

_I was about your age when I first met him. I was ridin' the white Thoroughbred my parents got me for Christmas when somethin' __spooked her, causin' her to throw me off and run away, leavin' me in the mud. My parents would no doubt be furious with me __for losin' that horse, tell me I was 'ungrateful' for wastin' their hard-earned money. I was cryin' and about to head home __when I heard someone ask, "Excuse me, is this your horse?"._

_I turned around and there he was, leadin' my missin' horse by her reins. As someone who'd been raised around people with __flawlessly smooth hair, manicured fingernails, unblemished skin, and spotless clothes, I was surprised to meet someone __with such wild and unruly hair, chipped fingernails, skin full of bruises and freckles, and dirty clothes. Where did he __come from, and what the Sam Hill was he doin' on my parents' property?_

_When I snatched the reins from his hand, he didn't flinch. When I told him to get his filthy self off my property before __I beat the tar out of him, the smile never left his face. As I turned away from him to lead my horse home, he said __somethin' that changed everythin'._

_"You look like you could use a friend."_

_I froze. No one had ever offered to be my friend before. Sure, I had B.O.B., but he wasn't the same as havin' someone __around my own age to play with. All the children I knew were either afraid of me or fond of gangin' up on me until I __fought back. And now here was this boy- this muddy, freckle-faced, ragged-looking country boy -askin' me, a clean-cut upper class __girl, if I wanted to be his friend._

_I didn't know what to say. But I guess I didn't need to say anythin', because he reached for my horse's reins and said, "__C'mon, I'll show you a few tips to keep your horse from throwin' you again._

_What else could I do but follow him?_

_By the way, my name's Jesse," he introduced himself. "What's yours?"_

_"Elizabeth," I told him. _

_"That's a pretty name," he remarked. _

_"Well I hate it. It sounds too stuffy and stuck-up." _

_"How 'bout if I just call you Ellie or Liz?" my new friend suggested. "Either of those sound any better?"_

_"I guess so," I responded, shrugging. "Anythin' that isn't Lizzie is fine with me." _

_"Of course B.O.B. came looking for me, wonderin' why I didn't come home right away, but much to my surprise he didn't __chase Jesse away. In fact, he seemed delighted I'd finally found a friend by myself. _

_My parents, on the other hand, weren't as __impressed. __It wasn't until my twelfth birthday that they found out about Jesse. I invited him to my party, thinking as long as he __stayed out of sight of the other guests, we'd be okay. But I wasn't countin' on one guest in particular, that nosy little __twit Helen Broadrick, findin' us hidin' beneath the table where the punch was set out._

_"Hey, look, everybody!" she yelled, mostly to the other children, but some of the adults heard, too. "Lizzie's friends __with some riffraff kid!"_

_Never in my whole life had I ever wanted to punch her in her stupid face so bad! I grabbed her by the front of her fancy __party dress, shouted, 'Don't you ever make fun of my friend!', and shoved her into the table, knockin' it over and __spillin' punch all over her stupid dress._

_Of course Helen had to blab to her parents what I did. They in turn told my parents, and boy were they furious. Not just __that I ruined Helen's dress, which they had to pay to replace, but that I had the nerve to bring a guest they did not __invite to the party. They forbade me from ever seein' Jesse again, and him from ever comin' near me or their property __again. They even went out and purchased a new security system to ensure we stayed apart. I'd had plenty of bad birthdays, __but this one was hands down the worst I'd ever had._

_I didn't see him again until five years later. I'd snuck out after dark with a fake ID I used to get into a bar. I was __just mindin' my own business, enjoyin' my drink when this one punk approached me from behind and asked me if I had any __plans for the rest of the night. I told him to back the hell off, but then he slapped both his filthy hands on my butt and __said, "Awww, don't be like that, doll-face!"_

_I'm not sure whether I was more angry that he called me "doll-face" or that he touched me without my consent. But either __way, I was not havin' any of it. I slugged that maggots-for-brains in the nose as hard as I could, sendin' him crashin' __into a table where three other guys were playin' poker. Of course those other guys were not happy about their poker game __bein' disrupted, so one of them tried to punch the scumbag who broke the table and ended up hittin' some girl by mistake, __which did not sit well with her boyfriend. _

_As you can guess, a fight broke out. Of course seein' all those thugs plowin' into each other got my blood pumpin', so I __joined right in, kickin' and punchin' anyone who got close to me. Then someone grabbed my arm and started to drag me away __from the brawl. I yelled at them to let me go and tried to pull away, but then a familiar voice said, "Now that's no way __to treat a friend."_

_The voice sounded older than I remembered, but I still recognized it. I turned around to face my rescuer, and there was __Jesse, grinnin' that dumb grin of his. He was taller, and had a few more bruises and a lot less freckles than before, plus __some facial hair, but I could tell it was him. _

_"C'mon, let's get outta here before the cops show up."_

_We left the bar as quickly as we could, but the cops still caught us after chasin' us a couple blocks. It turned out the __cops were called not because of the fight, but because one of the bartenders found out I, along with Jesse and two others, __was underaged and used a fake ID. _

_We were taken down to the station and put into a holdin' cell to wait for our families to bail us out. Well, I was pretty __sure at least Jesse's family would come for him; there was no doubt my folks would just send B.O.B. to get me, like they __always did. In the cell next to ours were a man and a woman who looked a bit older than ourselves, at least in their late __teens or early twenties, I reckon. It was pretty obvious Jesse knew them, because as soon as the man noticed us he asked, __"Hey Jess, who's your new girlfriend?" _

_"I'm not his girlfriend, dirtbag!" I shouted. Of course the warden heard me and told me to shut up. I was about to flip __him the bird when Jesse grabbed my arm and told me to calm down._

_"Sorry about my little brother's idiotic comment," the woman in the next cell apologized. "He sometimes forgets he has a brain."_

_"Hey!" the man protested. _

_Jesse introduced those two as Judd and Coley, a brother and sister who worked at a convenience store run by their parents. __Coley seemed especially pleased to meet me. _

_"Judd and Jess ain't that bad for boys, don't get me wrong," she said, "but I always wanted to have another girl hangin' __around to make things even."_

_"Well," I remarked, "I guess I'm your girl, then."_

_I knew B.O.B. would be comin' any minute now to take me home. But there was no way I was goin' back there. It just wasn't __home to me; never had been in the first place. Coley must have known what I was thinkin', because she offered to let me __stay in an empty room in the back of her parents' store. _

_"Our folks have no use for it, so they let Judd and I do whatever we want with it," she said. "They never go back there, __either, so you should be safe."_

_I didn't know what else to do, so I agreed. As soon as I was bailed out, I told B.O.B. we'd only be return' to my parents' __mansion to collect my belongings, and we wouldn't be stayin' there any longer. _

_We were movin' out. _

_Fast forward three years later. The four of us- Jesse, Judd, Coley, and I -became the foundin' members of the Deadlock __Gang. We started small, but we eventually clawed our way to the top. Soon everybody in the American Southwest knew who we __were. We were everywhere- on the news, in the papers, even the Internet wouldn't shut up about us. After all that time of __bein' doubted by other gangs who'd been around longer than ourselves, we were finally makin' our mark._

_As for me, I was in heaven. I was finally free of my parents and their expectations of me, I had B.O.B. and my gang by my __side, I had power I'd only dreamed of havin' before. But most importantly, I had him. Jesse McCree. _

_The two of us were a team. We took center stage every heist we pulled off. Coley and Judd were great partners and always __did their jobs well, but Jesse was the one I could count on to salvage a job gone wrong every time. __Once the two of us set __our minds to accomplish a task, heaven help anyone who even thought of standin' in our way. We were unstoppable. _

_At least, that's what I thought until that night ..._

_It was Mark who gave us the tip. He joined us only two months before, when Overwatch, of all places, was finally startin' __to take us seriously. The job seemed easy enough, he said. We could just slip in, take it all, and be long gone before __anyone even knew we were there. _

_Jesse, however, had his doubts. _

_"I've got a bad feelin' about this, Ashe," he told me. "It looks too good to be true. I just don't understand why such a __valuable cargo would be delivered to a warehouse in Deadlock territory with hardly any protection. It could be a trap." _

_Jesse and Mark never did get along, so I thought that was only the former's distrust of the latter speakin'. I decided __we'd go on ahead with the heist, and seein' that my mind was made up, Jesse didn't protest further. _

_As it turned out, Mark had been workin' with Overwatch the whole time. They were upon us almost as soon as we'd set foot __in the warehouse. We fought as best we could, but Jesse and I knew we all wouldn't make it out of there. _

_"Go!" he whispered to me. "I'll hold them off while you run for it!"_

_"I'm not leavin' you!" I told him. As soon as the words left my mouth, he pushed me into the waitin' arms of B.O.B., who __wasted no time in hoistin' me over his shoulder and carryin' me to the get-away truck, where Coley, Judd, and Peyote were __waitin'. Almost as soon as B.O.B. and I were on board, Judd stomped on the gas and away we went. I screamed at him to stop __and go back for Jesse, but it was no use. My friend was long gone. _

_Mark had fled durin' the fight, hopin' to find refuge across the border in Tijuana where he could lie low for awhile. __Unfortunately for him, he never was good at coverin' his tracks, so it didn't take me long to track him down and make him __pay for settin' us up. It wouldn't bring Jesse back, I knew, but boy did it feel good to stomp that sucker's face into the __dirt while he begged for mercy._

_Several years after the set-up, I saw Jesse on the news. I couldn't believe it. He'd been alive all this time, and had __joined up with Overwatch. Why had he never tried to contact me, to let me know he was okay? Why'd he let me go through all __those years of thinkin' he was dead? _

_Only one explanation made sense to me: Jesse McCree, the man I once called my friend, even considered a brother, had __abandoned me. Just like my parents did._

_At first I was numb, unsure of what to say, what to think. Then I noticed Jesse's picture on the wall, and suddenly I was __furious. I snatched the picture off the wall, ready to tear it up and burn the pieces, but in spite of my anger I couldn't __do it. So instead I tacked the picture to the dartboard, snatched one of the darts off the table, and let it fly. _

_"Damn you, Jesse McCree!" I shouted, tears streamin' down my face. "Damn you!"_

"Whoa, Momma," Natalie whispered, her eyes wide with shock and amazement. All her life she'd been curious about the picture on her mother's dartboard, but she never expected a story like this to be behind it.

Ashe rose from her desk and approached her daughter.

"I know it's difficult, not havin' as much freedom as you'd like," she said, gently placing her hand on Natalie's shoulder. "But we can't put your or the rest of the gang's safety at risk. Losin' Jesse was bad enough, but losin' you ..." The bandit sniffed, then dabbed at the tears starting to form in her eyes with the handkerchief B.O.B. gave her.

"Guess I'd better go get my holo-phone, then," Natalie remarked.

"You got that right, kiddo," Ashe responded. As Natalie rose from her seat to get her phone from her room, her mother added, "Tell you what, though. If you show me every shortcut you've been usin' to sneak away so I can seal them off, I'll take your phone away for a week instead of a month this time."

The revelation that her mother knew about her shortcuts, which she'd been trying to keep secret, made Natalie gasp. "H-how did you -?"

Ashe shook her head while snickering softly. "Don't act so surprised, young lady. You knew very dang well I'd find out about your secret shortcuts sooner or later. I've told you time after time there's no keepin' secrets from me, especially on my own turf."

As much as it pained Natalie to lose her shortcuts to the diner and other places in or around the gorge, the girl reluctantly agreed.

"Also you're not allowed to go to the diner or leave the gorge, while ridin' or otherwise, for six weeks."

Natalie nodded. "Got it." The girl was reaching for the door knob when someone banged on the other side of the door, startling both her and Ashe.

"Ashe!" yelled the unmistakable voice of Zeke. "Ashe!"

Ashe rolled her eyes as she opened the door to let the man in.

"Whatever this is," she growled, "it better be important!"

Zeke sunk to the floor on his knees, panting heavily. He raised a trembling arm and pointed out the door.

"The garage ...across from the High Side ..." he wheezed. "You're gonna want to see this!"

* * *

It was Hudsy who discovered the bike in the garage, right where McCree left it. Surprised to see her boss's old bike had finally been returned, she called Diamond and the triplets, who were searching the area with her, to come and look.

"One of you get Ashe!" Hudsy ordered the men as they arrived at the garage. "She's gonna want to see this!"

Fifteen minutes later, Zeke returned with Ashe, B.O.B., and Natalie.

"The hell is so important about somethin' in a dirty old garage that you have to drag me out here to see it?" the Deadlock leader demanded as she followed Zeke into the garage. "If this is some kind of God-damned joke, I'll -"

Ashe immediately fell silent when she saw her old hoverbike sitting in front of her. For a minute she remained completely still as if the bike might vanish if she took one more step toward it. Once she managed to convince herself that this was real and not a dream, the bandit cautiously approached the vehicle until she was close enough to touch it, which she did.

Though it had been twelve years since she last saw it, the bike looked almost exactly the same as it did the day McCree rode off on it after that foiled heist. Even the old picture of Ashe and Jesse in their younger years was still in its original spot on the dashboard, next to that note from -

_Wait, what?! _

Ashe snatched the note off the dashboard and quickly unfolded it, eager to read the message within. Natalie and the others watched in silence as Ashe read the note just as silently:

_Ashe,_

_I finally found the keys to the damned thing, so I thought now would be as good a time as any to return it to you. Give my __regards to the rest of the gang, and I do apologize for leaving you tied up on that hover dolly. _

_Jesse ;)_

At first, no one said a word. Suddenly, Ashe threw the note to the floor and stomped on it as she began to march out of the garage. When she came to the entrance, she turned to face her daughter and gang members, who remained where they were but continued to watch her with wide, anxious eyes.

"You all best cover your ears unless you want your eardrums explodin'," she said sternly.

Once everyone obeyed her order, Ashe continued on her way out. For the next few minutes not a word was said, nor a sound made. Suddenly, an ungodly loud scream shattered the silence, making Natalie and the others glad they'd covered their ears.

"Damn you, Jesse McCree! Damn you!"


End file.
